10 Shocking Cover Ups Marvel Comics Wants You To Forget
8. Holding Hulk Hogan Hostage
This all began when a wrestler going by the name of Terry Boulder appeared on a chat show with Lou Ferigno, television's Incredible Hulk. When Terry realised that he was bigger and more muscular than the actor playing one of the strongest creatures on the planet, he decided to flex on him by incorporating it in to his new wrestling name. And thus, Hulk Hogan was born.
As this new Hulk gained popularity in the WWF, Marvel came looking for a slice of the action. As the owners of the Hulk trademark, they were able to reach an agreement. Marvel would own the rights to the Hulk Hogan name, and would licence it to WWF for a fee.
That's right: any time Hogan appeared in the ring, or any time a 'Hulkamania' bandana was sold, Marvel were getting a cut of the profit. By owning the name, the comics company also technically owned the 'character' of Hulk Hogan, and could do anything they wanted with him. Bizarrely, Marvel did not take much advantage of this, only ever occasionally drawing Hogan into the background of a scene, simply because they could.
When Hogan jumped ship to WCW, a rival wrestling league, he changed his name to Hollywood Hogan in order to avoid paying Marvel for existing. Eventually, in 2009, he finally gave in and bought his name back. This was unfortunately followed by a string of controversies that ended his career, just as he finally held the rights to his own likeness.